Blackout Haunted House

Website: theblackoutexperience.com

2018 Dates: None announced. The event went on hiatus from Halloween haunting in 2016. Since then, Blackout had an installation at the Overlook Film Festival in April 2017 but no October events in Los Angeles. The old website (blackouthh.com) has gone dark, replaced by the new one listed above, which seemingly exists mostly to sell merchandise, with no info about upcoming events.

Blackout Haunted House History

After years in New York, Blackout Haunted House opened a new location in Los Angeles for Halloween 2012. Conceived as an extreme theatrical experience, the attraction actually had little to do with haunting or Halloween, so it made sense that, when it returned to L.A. in 2013 and 2014, Blackout dropped the words “Haunted House,” changing its name to The Blackout Experience or simply Blackout.

Its gimmick was that visitors would pass through the completely dark maze alone, with only a mask and a flashlight to protect them from horrors lurkiing within. The website warned that visitors would encounter: fog, strobe lights, complete darkness, crawling, stairs, loud noises, water, physical contact, sexual and violent situations. Judging from the reviews, the experience had less to do with Halloween Horror than with torture porn, S&M, and Abu Ghraib: the actors touched guests, invading their personal space; some were shackled in the dark with a bag over their heads.

Visitors were required to perform unpleasant actions. If the experience grew too intense, one could yell “Safety” and be escorted out. Anyone wo refused to do as he or she was told would be removed from the event. Only those 18 and over were allowed to attend; all patrons are required to sign a waver before entering. There are no refunds.

For Halloween 2014, Blackout promised to change the rules: visitors would no longer walk through alone – though who or what will accompany them is a mystery.

Skipping back and forth between New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, Blackout is no longer a regular Halloween event in Los Angeles, though it still does occasional off-season events. Consequently, we are moving its listing to the Graveyard of Lost Halloween Haunts